Can’t remember these call letters? You’re not alone. It seems they were approved by the Federal Communications Commission in 1977 but never actually used on San Francisco’s 106.1 FM frequency.
If you zoom in on the “History Card” held by the FCC, you’ll see a notation in the upper right corner. It shows a switch from KFRC-FM to KQUP on April 29, 1977.
That’s a significant date: it’s when RKO General completed the sale of the station to Century Broadcasting.
What were the plans for KQUP? A few weeks before the deal closed, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Joel Selvin offered “more news on the progressive radio front”: Selvin reported that Century Broadcasting would be unveiling new programming on the former KFRC-FM, known at the time as K106. According to Selvin’s item, there would be a strong whiff of the former “Jive 95” KSAN on the station. Selvin said former KSAN program director Thom O’Hair and former KSAN music director Bobby Cole would play those same roles at the new KQUP.
Cole was quoted in Marin County’s Daily Independent Journal as saying the new sound would target the 18-to-34 year old demographic, where KFRC and K-101 were top dogs. “We’re shooting for #1,” Cole said. “There’s no reason to shoot for anything less.”
Before the new format launched on July 2, 1977, Century chose new call letters: KMEL. And the rest, as they say, is Bay Area radio history.
